MLB News

Judge focused on getting healthy for stretch run

Yankees slugger out at least 3 weeks with fractured right wrist

By
Mandy BellMLB.com

NEW YORK -- Aaron Judge, who sustained a chip fracture of the right wrist (ulnar styloid bone) after getting hit by a Jakob Junis pitch in the first inning Thursday, was placed on the 10-day disabled list Friday. The Yankees recalled Tyler Wade from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to replace Judge on the roster.

"I had a bad feeling [right when I got hit]," Judge said. "I've gotten hit in the forearm or kind of up in that area before, and this one I knew right when it got in that spot that it was a little different. I didn't know the severity of it until the X-rays came back, but I didn't have a good feeling when I got hit."

NEW YORK -- Aaron Judge, who sustained a chip fracture of the right wrist (ulnar styloid bone) after getting hit by a Jakob Junis pitch in the first inning Thursday, was placed on the 10-day disabled list Friday. The Yankees recalled Tyler Wade from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to replace Judge on the roster.

"I had a bad feeling [right when I got hit]," Judge said. "I've gotten hit in the forearm or kind of up in that area before, and this one I knew right when it got in that spot that it was a little different. I didn't know the severity of it until the X-rays came back, but I didn't have a good feeling when I got hit."

The Yankees estimated that Judge will not be able to swing a bat in a game situation for three weeks, which manager Aaron Boone believed to be "realistic."

"Probably in the next week he will start swinging the bat, you know dry swings, tee, but I think there is a possibility that he's in a game in three weeks," Boone said. "Whether that's rehab, whether it's before then or just after, that all remains to be seen. It's very early in the process."

"I feel good," Judge said. "A little soreness today waking up, but overall I feel good. It could've been a lot worse, so I'm happy with what they diagnosed with the three weeks. It's time to go to work and get better."

Prior to Friday night's rainout against the Royals, Judge was on the field wearing a soft black brace on his right wrist that he said he will wear whenever he is not receiving treatment.

"Just to have it wrapped up and keep the swelling down is the biggest thing having that cast on," Boone said. "It's just not really a hard cast, just a little pad to keep the swelling down."

Until Judge returns, Boone said that Giancarlo Stanton -- who had hit .410 with eight RBIs in the 10 games prior to Judge's injury -- will get the majority of the starts in right field. With Clint Frazier not an option after being placed on the 7-day disabled list with a concussion, Wade is expected to serve as the primary backup in the outfield. Wade has made 17 outfield starts in Triple-A this season, including nine in center, five in left and three in right.

For now, Judge said he is just icing his wrist and keeping it compressed throughout his early stages of treatment. He will keep his conditioning up while he's waiting to be able to swing again by working on his lower body, according to Boone. As the non-waiver Trade Deadline approaches, Boone said that he is not concerned with finding a bat on the market to temporarily replace the Yankees slugger, who is slashing .285/.398/.548 with a team-high 26 home runs.

"You never know what materializes," Boone said of a potential trade. "We feel like we have a club, even with Aaron [down], capable of winning games, and that will be our expectation. Whether we get reinforcements or whatever, who knows? I don't think in that room we really concern ourselves with that, because we feel like we absolutely have the men capable of getting things done."

Judge will have to miss the Yankees' upcoming four-game set against the Red Sox in Boston from Aug. 2-5. The Yankees trail their division rivals by five games.

"It's tough, but stuff like this happens. You can't control it," Judge said. "I'm glad it happened now instead of the last couple weeks of September. You have to make a positive out of it. I want to be out there with my guys every day. That's always my goal. I want to play 162-plus [games] with my team. That's what I always felt like. You define great players as guys that are out there grinding, battling every day with their team. It's tough, but nothing that I can do about it now. Just have to move on, get healthy and get ready for that run."